AUGUSTA, GA: The Hickory Crawdads took the lead four batters into the game and never let it go, earning a wall-to-wall victory to defeat the GreenJackets for the 3rd time in four days.
A miscue from starter Owen Hackman opened the door for the Crawdads, as the pitcher dropped a two-out pop up from Beycker Barroso to extend the inning. Pablo Guerrero opened the scoring one batter later, crushing a two-run homer over the yellow line in left, his second long ball of the week.
The ‘Jackets were unable to bring forth a run against Mason Molina in the first two innings, but got on the board in the 3rd as the bottom of the order led the charge. Mason Guerra began the inning with a single, advanced to second on a walk, and came around to score on Owen Carey’s 2nd RBI of the series.
Both sides traded runs in the 4th, with Hickory regaining a multi-run lead before Augusta answered the call once more. Hickory loaded the bases with one out against Hackman, and Wady Mendez beat out a double play ball to score a man from third. Augusta counterpunched in the bottom half, using leadoff singles from Colby Jones and Mac Guscette brought home a run for the 2nd straight inning.
The sixth inning would prove incredibly fruitful for both teams, but especially so for the Crawdads. Hickory celebrated the end of Owen Hackman’s night by pouncing on Seth Keller, who was battered for three runs on three hits in his only inning of work. An RBI double from Antonis Macias, and two-RBI triple from Mendez, gave the Crawdads a commanding 6-2 lead.
The GreenJackets, to their credit, did not roll over after Hickory’s big frame, jumping right back on the horse against new reliever Michael Trausch. Guscette kept his solid day going with a one-out single, and after Trausch induced a pop up, Mason Guerra brought the stadium to its feet with a thunderous home run that cleared the roof of the apartment building behind left field.
Augusta’s excitement was short-lived, as the offense went dormant and did not muster another hit after Guerra’s moonshot. Hickory tacked on one more run in the 9th against Albert Rivas, and Luke Savage retired all six batters faced for his second save of the series.
The Crawdads’ win confirms that they will at minimum split the series this week, and need just one win this weekend for their second series victory against Augusta this year. Rayven Antonio takes the ball for Augusta on Star Wars Night tomorrow, looking to stay hot after a strong start to the season.
